Summer Fun: A day in the life of a park ranger

This story is part of our six-part series going behind the scenes with the people who make our summer fun.

A cloud of red clay dust swirls into the mid-morning light as we pull to a stop on a hilltop clearing overlooking acres of Alabama forest and wildlife. Noel Watters kills the engine and ushers us over to a 2-foot-tall strip of concrete protruding from underground. His eyes light up as he tells us the story behind it: "This used to be the entrance to a mine. You can still see the opening where the miners went in, and if you walk up that path," (he motions up a nearly ingrown trail) "you'll be walking the exact same path miners walked underground."

We continue up that path to another spot--this one overlooks the city. Watters points out Legion Field and other Birmingham landmarks. We've just driven about two miles into Red Mountain Park along narrow, winding paths seeming unsuited for motor vehicles--even the park's trusty Xterra. But after years working in the park, Watters knows it like the back of his hand.

After all, a big part of his job as a park ranger is patrolling the park--which is no quick task considering its 1,500 acres (almost double Central Park). Every day, Watters wakes up early to arrive at the park before it officially opens to the public at 7 a.m. After unlocking the entrance gate, he starts his morning rounds, where he does a search of the park's perimeter, including all six gates not open to the public. From there, he spends the better part of the morning patrolling the inside of the park by driving at a snail's pace through all 15 miles of trails, checking for changes or disturbances along the way. When the trail becomes too small, Watters travels on foot.

"You have to break those up into different sections at different times because at any point in time, I need to be within 3-5 minutes of my vehicle at a run," Watters says.

That's because often a park ranger serves as the first responder in emergency situations. The Xterra is equipped with a full medical kit, as well as an electronic defibrillator, though Watters more commonly deals with minor accidents like twisted ankles or mountain bike wrecks. Another issue park rangers deal with: dehydration.

"During the hot months, we have water in the car for guests," he says. "You'd be surprised how many people go to hike four miles in the summer and don't think about bringing water."

During our short tour through the park, we're stopped intermittently by calls to the park ranger cell phone (the number is posted on signage throughout the park). Most commonly, Watters says, people call when they are lost or need help finding a certain landmark. When a lost visitor calls, Watters first asks if they're able to drop a pin so he can easily locate them. If that's not an option, things get a little more exciting--for him at least.

"I'll ask, 'Where's the sun?' or "What can you see?' or 'What was the last thing you passed?' and that's really testing my knowledge of the trail system to be able to figure out where they're at. In a sense, that's fun because it's like a puzzle," he says.

Outside of just frantic "I'm lost" calls, it's also part of Watters' job to advocate and educate guests on the park, its history, and its facilities. This summer, the park could see up to 20,000 visitors per month--with much of that focused on the weekends. And of course, there are the regulars--the group that Watters greets every Tuesday, or Wednesday, or maybe even every other day. A few of the less glamorous parts of the job? Constantly reminding people to keep their dogs on leashes or to stop smoking. If Watters is working a double shift--meaning open to close--he takes another patrol of the park around 6:45 p.m. to remind everyone they're closing. Once the parking lot is empty, he does one more sweep of the park and heads home around 7:45 p.m.

Though days can be long, Watters says it's worth it to be able to enjoy and share the immense beauty and history of the park.

"Birmingham started here, which a lot of people don't realize," he says. "The whole reason Birmingham exists is our park--it's where the iron ore came from that created the industry that made everyone move to Birmingham. There's so much history buried here and we're trying really hard to keep it safe, clean, and free for everyone."

To read the rest of the series, see below:

--Photos by Kelsey Freeman

This story appears in Birmingham magazine's May 2017 issue. Subscribe today!